It’s no secret that I have been struggling with the ups and downs of POTS the last few months. More so than I have in a long time.

I’ve received a lot of questions, phone calls, emails, and concern from my amazing loved ones, so I thought it would be a good time to put a blog post out there. Plus, I miss writing.  It’s a wonderful way to communicate, help others understand, and to spread awareness which I believe in with all of my heart. Plus, it is simply a cathartic thing for me.

1. Medical Stuff:

• No PT this week. All rehab was on my own.
• 3 days of Home Rehab. So the new treadmill was put together, and then wouldn’t work. After a lot of time on the phone, the company said it was defective and will be shipping another one…So it’s back outside for walking and cardio until the new one arrives.
• I saw Dr. Rosen on Tuesday for a shrink appointment. Just trying to figure everything out…you know, life things…things like balance, perspective, health.

I’ve been on vacation all week in Saugatuck with my family…Playing catch up now!

1. Medical Stuff:

• No PT since I was away.
• I did one day of Home Rehab. Then my back decided to flare like crazy and I spent the rest of the week trying to calm it down with Ibuprofen, rest, ice, and my massage pillow.
• Vacation sleep is amazing sleep. It was the first week all summer I have slept really, really well.

For documentation sake, the following are Allie and my speeches from Life as a Zebra Foundation’s third annual, “An Evening With Tony Lucca and Chris Trapper to Benefit Invisible Illness Awareness & Research” held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on April 12, 2014.

I always said I wanted a tattoo. I just didn’t know what I wanted forever. It was that word, “forever” that got me every time I thought about it. What could I put on my body that would still mean something to me when I was 70? 100?

I liked the way a simple word looked. If you go to my Pinterest page, you will find that over the year, I had pinned a few word tattoos. Faith. Courage. Love.

But again, the “forever” was the thing that got me.